Canadian model Lauren Chan says she's 'unaffected' by 'rude' comments about her body: 'Ignorance is showing'
The Canadian model said most of her negative comments are about "being too big."
Lauren Chan is getting real about self-acceptance and how she deals with body-shaming online.
The Canadian plus size Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model opened up on an episode of Miles Sexton's podcast "Our Private Bits" last week, offering an unfiltered look into her personal and professional journey towards body positivity and self-acceptance.
"It's been a struggle for me at times. I've really kind of hit a stride in the past few years," Chan revealed, discussing the complexities of her career in modeling. Despite her success, Chan revealed she grappled with the aspects of modelling she didn't love.
"I don't love the act of modelling and that was part of the challenge for me in having done it for all these years," she said. "Through therapy, I got to a place where I now love the job as a whole."
Chan's turning point came in 2012, she recalled — a moment that marked the beginning of her journey towards self-acceptance. "It was the first time that I was the size that I am and someone said, 'Great, that's what we're looking for, you're valuable.'"
The Ontario-born content creator also touched on the generational journey of self-discovery, highlighting the importance of leaning into one's identity and the challenges of unlearning societal biases. "I think that's like the journey of our generation...we still had to relearn a lot of these dialogues that we have and unpack our internalized queerphobia, our internalized fatphobia," she said.
Facing online negativity, especially comments targeting her body, Chan shared her approach to dealing with trolls and body-shaming, saying, "My negative comments are mostly about my body and me being too big."
Despite the harsh commentary, her understanding of beauty standards acts as a shield, Chan explained. She also pointed out the beauty standard is a "made up" moving target.
"It's literally fake. It changes every three years... that pattern is proof that it's not objective. It's an impossible target and we shouldn't chase it in the first place," Chan claimed.
"So when someone comments something rude about my body being big or unattractive on my social media page which — sidebar, is like, 'Get the f—k off my page' — I am unaffected because they don't know as much as I know about the beauty standard or what it means to be a woman or how to live in a marginalized body.
Chan shared a snippet of the podcast episode with her Instagram followers on Tuesday, with the caption: "If you feel the need to tell me that you don't like my body — because it doesn't fit into an outdated beauty ideal — your ignorance is showing."
Fans responded with supportive messages in the comments.
"Well said," one person wrote. "You are my president," someone else quipped.
"'It's like arguing with someone about politics that doesn't read the news.' Gold statement," added another.
"Lauren Chan for Prime Minister," a commenter joked. "You're on a whole other level with this. Keep spreading the word, girl! You're advocacy is helping more than you know."
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